Paint a Mountain Lake
From Scratch 🏔️

Using your pencil, lightly draw a horizontal shoreline about halfway down the canvas. Above it, draw a large triangle shape in the center for the mountain. Draw a zigzag line along the shoreline to mark where the pine trees will go. Below the shoreline is the lake. Keep all lines light and loose.

Mix Cobalt Blue with a generous amount of Titanium White to create a bright sky blue. Using your large flat brush, apply this color evenly across the sky area above the mountain. Use smooth horizontal strokes for an even, clean background.

Fill in the triangle mountain shape with Grey using smooth strokes. While still wet, load your brush with Titanium White and paint the top portion of the mountain to create a snow cap. Use a slightly jagged edge where the snow meets the grey to make it look natural. No blending needed — a clean edge between grey and white looks great.

Mix Hooker's Green with a small amount of Lamp Black to create a deep forest green. Using the tip of your brush, paint a row of simple pine tree silhouettes along the shoreline. Each tree is just a tall triangle shape — start with a point at the top and widen as you go down. Vary the heights slightly for a natural forest look.

Fill in the lower half of the canvas with Cobalt Blue using smooth horizontal strokes — this is the calm lake surface. While still wet, dip your brush in Titanium White and paint 2–3 loose, slightly wavy horizontal strokes across the lake to suggest light reflecting on the water. Keep them simple and don't overwork them.

Step back and look at your painting. Touch up any areas where the background shows through. Make sure the sky and lake are the same shade of blue for a cohesive look. Your mountain lake painting is complete! 🏔️